For two years, a London microbrewery has been attracting attention as one of the Forest City’s roadside attractions right from the highway for a reasonable price.

Forked River Brewing Company was one of the businesses that used the Tourism-Oriented Directional Signing (TODS) program along Highway 401 to encourage people to come off the highway and try out its beer.

But, earlier this month, the brewery’s co-owner and co-founder Dave Reed opened up his renewal notice. And like other business owners across Ontario who paid for to the service, he was met with “sticker shock.”

The price charged by the company that installs, finances and manages the signs on Ontario’s highways had doubled. Reed said he was stunned. “I had to pull up the invoice from two years ago to check the price.”

It turns out he will be getting a revised notice and will be happy to see it. The Ontario government announced Thursday it is freezing the price increase for 2019, leaving it at the same $300 it’s been since 1997.

The recent invoices had jacked the price to $750 per sign as of Jan. 1. That was a deal negotiated by the previous provincial Liberal government in April 2018 after prices were held in check for the duration of previous contract. The new contract would have stayed in place until 2028.

In a press release, the new Progressive Conservative government said it had negotiated the year-long freeze with Canadian TODS Ltd. There was no indication what will happen to the price at the end of 2019.

In the press release, Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek, who is also the MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, said the government heard “loud and clear from small business owners across Ontario and (has) fixed a problem that the previous government created.”

Forked River has two signs along Highway 401 — for eastbound and westbound traffic.

Reed said he is pleased to hear the price will return to its earlier, cheaper rate, although the brewery was willing to stay in the program because the owners could see its benefit.

The signs did attract tourists from outside the province and the United States, many of whom would stop in London en route to vacations in the Toronto area. London is seen as a midpoint between Detroit and Toronto, and a lot of Chicago area travellers have stopped just as they are coming off Highway 402 from Sarnia-Port Huron.

“I’m always amazed at the number of out-of-province or the States (licence) plates we get at the brewery,” Reed said.

Even if only a small percentage of travellers act on the signs, the brewery name still gets exposure to the huge number of vehicles travelling through the area daily.

For Forked River, which is five years old, getting in on the highway sign program two years ago signalled about the brewery’s legitimacy. It solidified that “we’re part of the beer scene and a small business in London.”

The high price in the recent invoice, Reed said, was “on the north side” of what the business wanted to pay.

But, he added, “I would much prefer to pay the original rates.”

“The TODS price freeze is good news for businesses and drivers in Southwestern Ontario and the London area,” Monte McNaughton, the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP and infrastructure minister, said in a statement.

“Every tourism operator and small business that is a member of the TODS program in Ontario will be positively impacted by this announcement.”

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